6/16/2006 11:49:00 pm -
Reported by
Shaun Lyon

Issue #371 of Doctor Who Magazine will be released next Thursday, 22 June, and the following is a preview; click on the thumbnail for a larger version of the cover. (Thanks to Tom Spilsbury/DWM)

Get ready for another Abzorbing issue of Doctor Who Magazine!

This issue Peter Kay tells DWM about how he came to play the Abzorbaloff in Saturday's episode Love & Monsters:

"It's not like anything I've done before - which is great! It were last June that I wrote to Russell [T Davies], and I didn't hear back til September, and he mentioned this Blue Peter competition to design a monster. 'I'mtrying to make the episode special,' he said. 'Would you be interested? I'd love you to do it.' I immediately rang him back - he were watching Cash in the Attic - and said, 'I'd love you to do it!' We originally discussed me playing Elton, but I said, 'I'd love to do something different, cos I've always played this UFO-spotter type - a bit nerdy, kind of.' I did a thing in Coronation Street, and they're very similar parts. I've not got a problem with that... but really, let's be honest, if you're going to be in Doctor Who, you either want to be Doctor Who or a baddie! Know what I mean? And Russell said, 'Why not? Have a go.' I said, 'I won't let you down.' And I've loved it. I've absolutely loved it!"

Also this issue there's a look at the making of Love & Monsters; the script-to-screen journey of The Idiot's Lantern; and The Impossible Planet's director James Strong writes his own production diary on making the story.

Plus there are previews of Fear Her, and Billie Piper's departure from the series in Army of Ghosts and Doomsday - and the Doctor and Rose conclude their latest comic strip adventure in the final part of F.A.Q.

There's also some exclusive DVD news in Gallifrey Guardian, Russell T Davies takes readers backstage at the BAFTAs, the Time Team watch State of Decay and Warriors' Gate, and all the latest previews and reviews, competitions, readers' views, and the results of the Off the Shelf Awards!